Portable, disposable spice-holding device

ABSTRACT

A multiple package spice-holding device includes a single backing support sheet form holding a plurality of attached individual packages in predetermined quantities of a wide range of spices. The backing sheet is of a thickness so as to support multiple spice-holding packages without collapsing. The backing sheet is labeled with content indicators for each attached, pre-selected spice, and helpful common uses and spice mixing alternatives for a broad range of cuisines are printed on the reverse side of the backing support sheet form. The backing support sheet form containing attached individual packages of pre-selected spices is enclosed in an outer protective wrap with an adhesive seal strip. The finished package is compact and lightweight, making it convenient for transport and short-term use in periods during which a wide variety of meals may be prepared, after which remaining contents and packaging may be disposed if desired.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not applicable.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a device for holding a plurality ofpackages of small quantities of herbs and spices, and particular to aportable, lightweight, non-bulky disposable spice-holding device in theshape of a plurality of separate packages attached to a supportivebacking sheet with use and mixing information enclosed in a clear,sealed outer wrapper, requiring minimal space in order to facilitateconvenience of transport and merchandising of a broad variety of spicesin small quantities for short term use and subsequent disposal.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Prior spice-holding devices have been designed for storing quantities tosupport multiple uses over a long period of time and included fixedshelf cupboards for holding self-supporting containers of spices of theusers' choosing, but which are not convenient for on-site merchandisingand use in temporary living situations in which meal preparationactivities will occur for a limited period of time such as hotel, motel,condominium rentals, timeshare units, camping and the like. Previousspice-holding devices have included sliding drawers or compartments inwhich spices may be filled and/or from which spices may be dispensed.None of the prior spice-holding devices have provided small quantitiesof a broad variety of spices for a wide range of cuisines designedsolely for ease of transport, on-site merchandising, if desired,immediate use convenience and subsequent disposal with no replacementpurpose. Previous spice-holding devices have not included helpful commonspice use and spices mixing information for temporary living situationsin which common spice use information for a wide range of spices is notreadily available.

Also, individual spices have traditionally been sold in separatecontainers having separate spices commonly in comparatively largerquantities intended for longer periods of time. These conventionalsystems are not conveniently suitable for portable situations andrequire the purchase of larger quantities of spices than required for awide variety of meal preparation purposes in certain temporary livingsituations. The present invention provides a comparably inexpensivemethod to acquire a wide range of spices in a simple, convenient andlightweight form, requiring minimal space and which may be readilytransported, merchandised and disposed after use. Further, certaincombinations of spices and ingredients have traditionally been premixedin single packages for creating a specific recipe as, for example, apowdered soup mix, a chili mix, taco mixes, spaghetti sauce mixes, gravymixes, sauce mixes and the like. Such pre-mixed spice and ingredientcombinations most typically are intended for purposes of a single recipeand a single meal preparation. Those premixed spices arecuisine-specific, and do not normally provide for multipleuser-determined recipe use. Previously, it was not known to collect awide range of individual spices, based on common uses that can be usedfor a broad choice of cuisines, place them in small quantities into aconvenient, disposable holding device and to market the spices togetherwith spice uses and spice mixing reference information in a single,space-saving, non-bulky, lightweight, portable and disposable package.

In the past a number of devices which include packaged spices and whichprovide some portability have been proposed. A search of the patentliterature has uncovered the following related U.S. issued patents andpatent applications:

No. 20020148363 Frommer October, 2002 No. 5664670 Cozzie September 1997No. 6349820 Kelley February 2002 No. 1940078 Cooper May 1930 No.20030029770 MacKinnon February 2003 No. 20070181600 Ben-Shlomo February2006 No. 6093430 Gupta July 2007 No. 6360916 Solosky March 2002 No.5496575 Newarski March 1996 No. D327820 Ancona July 1992

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a supportive backing sheet spice-holdingdevice. The spice holding supportive backing “sheet” contains attachedpackages for holding small quantities of a broad variety of selectedcommon herbs and spices for use in a wide range of cuisines. Theinvention further comprises a useful spice and herb printed referencechart for use of the selected herbs and spices with various food typesand helpful spice combinations for use with various cuisines. Eachsupportive backing sheet provides limited use quantities of spices forconvenience, essentially eliminating the need for transporting orpurchasing multiple containers of spices for cooking in temporarysituations, for example temporary living quarters or camping.

The supportive backing sheet and individual spice package materials arenot limited to any particular type of material or color. The supportivebacking sheet of the invention could be made of any natural fiberboardor printable plastic material so long as said material is lightweightand capable of supporting multiple units of small quantities ofseparately packaged spices attached to the sheet.

The supportive backing sheet and separate spice package materials arenot limited to any particular type of attachment method. For example,the spice packages may be attached utilizing adhesive, staples or asimilar lightweight vehicle.

In the preferred embodiment, a supportive backing “sheet” contains smallquantities of a broad variety of herbs and spices that are useful in awide range of cuisines. For example, spices most commonly used inpreparing different types of soups, eggs, meats, poultry, seafood,salads, sauces, vegetables, etc.

The Applicant has further created a method of making a portable,disposable spice collection including collecting, packaging andproviding a broad variety of selected spices and herbs in a convenient,disposable form for holding small quantities of individually packagedspices and herbs selected for a wide range of cuisines. Further, eachspice-holding device supportive backing sheet includes a printed spiceuse and spice mixtures chart for easy reference when preparing a widerange of cuisines, and the collection is enclosed in a protective outerwrapper for distribution and marketing purposes.

The method of claim [0008], including the steps of printing a trade nameand/or logo on the backing support sheet and/or the protective outerwrapper for marketing purposes. In one embodiment, the completed andsealed spice package collection may be displayed on a hanging rod formarketing purposes.

The protective outer wrapper, supportive backing sheet and separatespice packages may be subsequently disposed in receptacles designed forrecyclable materials.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing objects, advantages, and features, as well as otherobjects and advantages, will become more apparent with reference to thedescription, claims and drawings below, in which like numerals representlike elements, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective of the front side of a portable, disposablespice-holding device according to the present invention in which examplepre-selected spices are labeled on the supportive backing sheet andpackages of said spices are attached to the supportive backing sheet,according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is another perspective of the front view of a portable,disposable spice-holding device according to the embodiment of FIG. 1which illustrates the supportive backing sheet prepared for subsequentattachment of separate packages of pre-selected spices and an example ofone method of attachment of spice-containing packages, said packageswhich may vary in size;

FIG. 3 is a perspective of the side view of a portable, disposablespice-holding device according to the embodiment of FIG. 1 in whichseparate packages of pre-selected spices are attached to the supportivebacking sheet;

FIG. 4 is a perspective of the reverse side view of the supportivebacking sheet of a portable, disposable spice-holding device in whichprinted information about common spice uses and spice mixtures forspices contained in the separate packages attached to the front of theportable, disposable spice-holding device is shown.

FIG. 5 is a perspective of the protective outer wrapper into which thecompleted spice-holding device is subsequently inserted for productprotection, marketing and distribution;

FIG. 6 is another perspective of the front view of a portable,disposable spice-holding device according to the embodiment of FIG. 1 inwhich example separate spice packages are attached to the supportivebacking sheet and the protective outer wrapper encloses the completedportable, disposable spice-holding device for product protection,marketing and distribution purposes.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Reference is now made to FIG. 1, which is an illustration of a portablespice-holding device in accordance with a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention, before it has been placed and sealed in a protectiveouter wrapper 16, as shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6.

As shown in FIG. 1, small quantities of separately packaged herbs andspices 10 are attached to a supportive backing sheet 12. The backingsupport sheet 12 preferably comprises a material, such as cardboard,onto which separate packages of spices 10 are adhered.

FIG. 2 is another perspective of the front side of the supportivebacking sheet which illustrates doubled-sided adhesive strips 14 placedin each respective space to which a separate package of pre-selectedspice 10 will be adhered on the supportive backing sheet 12. FIG. 2 alsoillustrates varying sizes for the separate packages of pre-selectedspices 10. In this particular embodiment there are fourteen separatepre-selected spice packages 10 for holding fourteen separate herbs andspices. In the preferred embodiment, the spice-filled packages 10 areresealable. The total number of spice packages 10 adhered to thesupportive backing sheet 12 may be varied without departing from theinvention as claimed. FIG. 2 further shows the front perspective viewsof the supportive backing sheet 12, preferably provided with printfields 18 indicating the content of each of the separate pre-selectedspices; at least one print field 20 in which the specific vendor isappropriately indicated with print or an attached label; and additionalprint field 22 for merchandising information is provided.

Reference is now made to FIG. 3, which illustrates a side view of thevertical positioning and adherence of separate spice containing packages10 on the supportive backing sheet 12.

FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective of the reverse side of the supportivebacking sheet 12 in which printed information about common spice uses 24and helpful spice mixtures 26 for a variety of grilling and ethniccombinations created by combining specified portions of spices containedin the separately adhered packages is shown. Additional informationfield 28 is provided for purposes of additional merchandisinginformation or trademark and/or trade dress source of origin indicator.

FIG. 5 illustrates a protective outer wrapper with an adhesive strip 30,an aperture 32 for insertion of a hanging rod and a fold over flap 34.

As shown in FIG. 6, the portable, disposable spice-holding device isenclosed in a protective outer wrapper 16 for tamper resistance,transport and merchandising. The protective outer wrapper 16 is made ofa flexible, clear material allowing the user to see both the front andreverse sides of the supportive backing sheet 12 and the adheredpackages of spices 10. The protective outer wrapper 16 is sealed by anadhesive strip 30 and also provides an aperture 32 by which amerchandising rod may be used to display the finished product.

The foregoing description of specific embodiments of the presentinvention has been provided for purposes of illustration anddescription. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit theinvention to the precise form disclosed, and many modifications andvariations are possible in light of the teaching and within thecontemplation of the present invention. The embodiments were chosen anddescribed in order to best explain the principles of the invention andits practical application to those skilled in the art. It is intendedthat the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended heretoand their equivalents.

1. A spice-holding device comprising: a) a supportive backing sheetform; and b) said sheet containing plurality of attached packagesholding small quantities of a wide variety of predetermined quantitiesof pre-selected spices.
 2. A spice-holding device as in claim 1 whereinsaid predetermined quantities of pre-selected spices are comprised of awide range of spices pre-selected on the basis of a broad variety ofnon-specific general, cuisines.
 3. A spice-holding device as in claim 1wherein said supportive backing sheet form includes label fieldsimprinted with specific spice identifiers corresponding to each of thepre-selected separately packaged spices attached to the front of thesheet.
 4. A spice-holding device as in claim 3 further comprising aspices use chart and mixed spices recipes on the reverse side of thesupportive backing sheet, corresponding to potential uses of saidpre-selected spices held in said plurality of packages attached to thefront side of the supportive backing sheet.
 5. A spice-holding device asin claim 4 further comprising a sealed, clear, outer protective wrapperto reduce potential tampering and to facilitate convenient handling,transportation and merchandising of the spice-holding device.
 6. Amethod of business for distributing selected spices for convenient useand disposal, comprising the steps of: a) collecting spices useful forpreparing a variety of cuisines; b) making a supportive backing sheetfor attaching a plurality of packages holding small quantities of saidpre-selected and collected spices; c) printing the supportive backingsheet or attached packages with a spice indicator word, phrase or symbolcorresponding to each pre-selected, individually packaged spice andprinting common spice use information on the backing sheet, d) packagingquantities of said collected spices and attaching said packaged spicesto said labeled supportive backing sheet spice-holding device; e)placing said portable spice-holding device in a clear, protective outerwrapper; and e) marketing and distributing said portable, disposablespice-holding device.